FROM Tiffany lamps and Rene Lalique vases to thermal shields for spacecraft, glass can be found in many different environments.

FROM Tiffany lamps and Rene Lalique vases to thermal shields for spacecraft, glass can be found in many different environments.

Whilst being described as functional, strong and durable, glass is also fragile, beautiful and delicate.

Glass is being used more and more in the design arena as every quality you can lend to the material of glass you can also apply the opposite: for example it is both strong and fragile.

This year's Stirling Prize offers the perfect example of this spectrum.

Laban Dance Centre, winner of this year's prize, looks like a colourful and delicate addition to the Deptford skyline, but its complex design, incorporating a double-skinned wall, shows how glass can be visually delicate whilst structurally strong.

Constructed of a delicate external membrane of coloured polycarbonate panels, and devised in collaboration with artist Michael Craig-Martin, architects Herzog and de Meuron have concealed an energy-saving inner layer of insulation and translucent glass panels.

The second contender entered for the Stirling Prize worth noting for its spectacular use of glass, is the two acre square glass roof of the British Museum, designed by Norman Foster and Partners.

The #100m millennium project is now the largest covered public square in Europe with the world-famous reading room at its core.

Made of an intricate combination of glass and steel, the Great Court boasts of 315 tonnes of glass, making up a giant jigsaw.

To focus on the environmentally friendly benefits of using glass in design, The Beddington Zero Energy Development, (better known as BedZED), and designed by Bill Dunster Architects, was the eco-friendly offering to this year's Stirling Prize, labelled "The Pioneering Green Village."

Making the most of the energy given by the sun, the development uses excellent insulation and triple-glazed windows, thus conserving energy.

Glass company Tonelli explains its design ethos and how it is constantly searching for new ways to use glass, "Innovative materials borrowed from off-limits sectors are searched in order to beat and surprise the competitors. The basic principle is to reverse the rules in order to look for a new relationship with the conventional elements."

With such a vast selection of glass furniture designed by some of the biggest names it is impossible to overlook this wonderful material as an option for your next dining or coffee table, shelving unit or chair.

From a smooth and elegant dining table such as the Link by Gallotti & Radice to the new Lens table by B&B Italia (the surface of the table suggesting a kaleidoscope or the stained glass windows on 18th-century palaces in Venice), glass can be both simple and spectacular.

With the increase in apartment living we are also more aware of space-saving solutions in response to our new found smaller environments, and it is here that glass comes into its own.

In a compact apartment a glass dining table can not only save visual space, but can create a feeling of light and airiness.

By replacing traditional art with a simple and elegant mirror such as the Bungalow or Essenza by Tonelli (which doubles as a neat console table), you can reflect light off the walls and visually, double your living space.

In addition to the living space, glass office furniture can add a touch of elegance to your home or office - perfect if you want to combine work and living space.

The Movie System by Gallotti & Radice combines practicality with style (and a designer name), giving a contemporary feel to offices or a simple desk area in a spare room or open plan lounge.

Even multi-media storage can be added to the glass shopping list when it comes to apartment living or space-saving storage solutions.

The Ubiqua system by Porada offers clean and simple lines on a rotating central column. Placed either in the centre of a room or by a window, this remarkable piece will be the perfect answer to displaying your flat screenTV, hi-fi and DVD, as well as acting as a contemporary room divider.

Glass has been an integral part of product design for hundreds of years, and it is still offering us new and exciting solutions to our modern living environments.